Brooke Geery

American

Ala Carts Food Pavillion

Location: SE 50th and Divison Number of carts: 14 Covered: Yes Pros: Lots of entertainment options, wet naps, free wifi, good food choices. Cons: Beer is only on weekends, really close to Los Gorditos. Types of food (check their site for current carts): Turkish, burgers, coffee, seafood, Pork, Venezuelan, chicken and waffles, Pizza, Southwestern, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai http://www.alacartspdx.com/ Ala Cart is much more than just a cart pod. It's like a cart experience filled with fun for the whole family. What does that even mean? Well, I'll tell you. In addition to some 14 food carts, there's also a little playground for kids, cornhole for big kids, sidewalk chalk for…
Read More

Mulligan’s

3518 SE Hawthorne Blvd Date of Visit: March 11, 2010 Cost for 2 (with tip): $21 Since it's getting close to St. Patrick's day, it seems fitting we'd finally make it to Mulligan's, although, the impending holiday actually has nothing to do with why we went there. A combination of attempting to be less fat and attempting not to spend so much money has slowed the lunch blogging, but there are a few places still to cross off. Mulligan's was one of them. We showed up promptly at noon and were officially the only customers in there. The bar is big, with a couple pool tables, and apparently on Thursday…
Read More

Cafe Magnolia

1522 SE 32nd Ave Date of visit: February 3, 2010 Price for 2 (with tip) $20 We're really winding down this project -- basically the places left to go are either not really on Hawthorne, or just plain scary. Magnolia fell into the former category with it's slightly off-the-beaten-path location on 32nd. We were actually trying to go to Chance of Rain cafe, the former occupant, but it's gone, Magnolia is open and there we were. I gathered this was more of a breakfast spot, the waitress was sure to let us know they served it all day, although the menu options were not very extensive for either meal. I…
Read More

Jam on Hawthorne

2239 SE Hawthorne Blvd Date of visit: January 13, 2010 Price for 2 (with tip) $18.50 Jam on Hawthorne is a pretty typical Portland breakfast joint, and if you know any thing about Portland, that's a good thing, at least foodwise. Ample portions, lots of variety and a full bar with all sorts of specialty cocktails are a must for any go-to breakfast spot in this town. But of course, there is a dark side to almost all of the good ones: the are small and usually crowded, and unfortunately, this much is also true for Jam. We managed to arrive at prime lunch time, and had to put our…
Read More

The Space Room/ Brite Spot Cafe

4800 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.spaceroomlounge.com/ Date of Visit: 1/12/2010 Price for 2 (with tip): $14.50 After yesterday's round up of places yet to go, it became clear we're pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel on Hawthorne. 80% of remaining restaurants are of the scummy bar variety, and, well, my ass is already fat enough. But one place I hadn't thought of was Big Bertha's; a-ten-dollar-and-under gyro sounded mighty delicious today. It turned out though, that there was a reason we hadn't tried it: this is is exclusively a late night spot. So we hastily opted for the Space Room, directly across the street. I've been to this bar…
Read More

The Whole Bowl

4409 SE Hawthorne Blvd www.thewholebowl.com Date of Visit: December 17, 2009 Price for 2: $13 The first visit to the Whole Bowl is an interesting experience, because it's definitely not your normal restaurant. After all, there is a grand total of one thing on the menu. Your choices include what size and an option to omit any of the standard ingredients. You can also choose to get chips (of the basic tortilla variety served up in an unimpressive ziplock bag) or not. And they have a variety of drinks including Hansen's soda, which is always a plus. Personally, I really like one item on the menu, but Jared was not…
Read More

Nick’s Famous Coney Island

3746 SE Hawthorne Blvd www.nicksfamousconeys.com Date of Visit: November 17, 2009 Price for 2 (with tip): $23.25 We'd actually tried Nick's shortly before embarking on this blog project, and being honest, our review then wasn't good. I'd gotten a burger, because the A Frame outside says "Best Burgers in Town" explicitly and I felt obligated to test it out. Jared got a veggie coney and we both had the mac salad because that day the fryer happened to be broken. We both found ourselves incredible underwhelmed, and never planning to return. But as we now make all lunch-related decisions by this blog, and Nick's Famous Coney Island is one of…
Read More

Barley Mill Pub

1629 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=10&id=313 Date of Visit: November 12, 2009 Price for 2 (with tip): $22 The Barley Mill is the oldest McMenamins pub in Portland, and if you've been to one McMenamins, you pretty much know what to expect. Pub food and good beer served up in whatever kitschy theme that location happens to be dedicated to. The theme here is the Greatful Dead, and the walls and even ceiling are covered with brightly colored junk of that ilk, but I tried not to hold that against them. When you really start to pay attention, there are subtle differences in the menus and offerings at each location, and…
Read More

Burgerville

1122 SE Hawthorne Blvd Burgerville.com Date of Visit: November 10, 2009 Price for 1: $7.59 Jared hates Burgerville. For that reason he made it a point that if we were going to do this blog project, we were not including chains, so we wouldn't have to go there. I should note though, the reason Jared hates Burgerville is because you need a key to get into the bathroom and one time he tried to use the WiFi and it didn't work. And I, on the other hand, really like the place. Yes Burgerville is a fast food joint, but it's so much better than your average fast food restaurant. The…
Read More

Grand Central Bakery and Cafe

2230 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.grandcentralbakery.com/store_hawthorne.html Date of visit: November 6, 2009 Price for 2: $18.65 Before we started this blog project, we hit up Grand Central almost every week. The funny thing is, my only real issue with it was I thought it was a little on the spendy side. Now that I've tried tons of different places and seen what's out there, I'm pretty sure that Grand Central Bakery is actually one of the best lunch options on Hawthorne, in terms of price and quality. As the name implies, the star of the sandwiches here is the fresh-baked bread. Different sandwiches come on different breads, everything  from baguettes to…
Read More

Ala Carts Food Pavillion

Location: SE 50th and Divison Number of carts: 14 Covered: Yes Pros: Lots of entertainment options, wet naps, free wifi, good food choices. Cons: Beer is only on weekends, really close to Los Gorditos. Types of food (check their site for current carts): Turkish, burgers, coffee, seafood, Pork, Venezuelan, chicken and waffles, Pizza, Southwestern, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai http://www.alacartspdx.com/ Ala Cart is much more than just a cart pod. It's like a cart experience filled with fun for the whole family. What does that even mean? Well, I'll tell you. In addition to some 14 food carts, there's also a little playground for kids, cornhole for big kids, sidewalk chalk for…
Read More

Mulligan’s

3518 SE Hawthorne Blvd Date of Visit: March 11, 2010 Cost for 2 (with tip): $21 Since it's getting close to St. Patrick's day, it seems fitting we'd finally make it to Mulligan's, although, the impending holiday actually has nothing to do with why we went there. A combination of attempting to be less fat and attempting not to spend so much money has slowed the lunch blogging, but there are a few places still to cross off. Mulligan's was one of them. We showed up promptly at noon and were officially the only customers in there. The bar is big, with a couple pool tables, and apparently on Thursday…
Read More

Cafe Magnolia

1522 SE 32nd Ave Date of visit: February 3, 2010 Price for 2 (with tip) $20 We're really winding down this project -- basically the places left to go are either not really on Hawthorne, or just plain scary. Magnolia fell into the former category with it's slightly off-the-beaten-path location on 32nd. We were actually trying to go to Chance of Rain cafe, the former occupant, but it's gone, Magnolia is open and there we were. I gathered this was more of a breakfast spot, the waitress was sure to let us know they served it all day, although the menu options were not very extensive for either meal. I…
Read More

Jam on Hawthorne

2239 SE Hawthorne Blvd Date of visit: January 13, 2010 Price for 2 (with tip) $18.50 Jam on Hawthorne is a pretty typical Portland breakfast joint, and if you know any thing about Portland, that's a good thing, at least foodwise. Ample portions, lots of variety and a full bar with all sorts of specialty cocktails are a must for any go-to breakfast spot in this town. But of course, there is a dark side to almost all of the good ones: the are small and usually crowded, and unfortunately, this much is also true for Jam. We managed to arrive at prime lunch time, and had to put our…
Read More

The Space Room/ Brite Spot Cafe

4800 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.spaceroomlounge.com/ Date of Visit: 1/12/2010 Price for 2 (with tip): $14.50 After yesterday's round up of places yet to go, it became clear we're pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel on Hawthorne. 80% of remaining restaurants are of the scummy bar variety, and, well, my ass is already fat enough. But one place I hadn't thought of was Big Bertha's; a-ten-dollar-and-under gyro sounded mighty delicious today. It turned out though, that there was a reason we hadn't tried it: this is is exclusively a late night spot. So we hastily opted for the Space Room, directly across the street. I've been to this bar…
Read More

The Whole Bowl

4409 SE Hawthorne Blvd www.thewholebowl.com Date of Visit: December 17, 2009 Price for 2: $13 The first visit to the Whole Bowl is an interesting experience, because it's definitely not your normal restaurant. After all, there is a grand total of one thing on the menu. Your choices include what size and an option to omit any of the standard ingredients. You can also choose to get chips (of the basic tortilla variety served up in an unimpressive ziplock bag) or not. And they have a variety of drinks including Hansen's soda, which is always a plus. Personally, I really like one item on the menu, but Jared was not…
Read More

Nick’s Famous Coney Island

3746 SE Hawthorne Blvd www.nicksfamousconeys.com Date of Visit: November 17, 2009 Price for 2 (with tip): $23.25 We'd actually tried Nick's shortly before embarking on this blog project, and being honest, our review then wasn't good. I'd gotten a burger, because the A Frame outside says "Best Burgers in Town" explicitly and I felt obligated to test it out. Jared got a veggie coney and we both had the mac salad because that day the fryer happened to be broken. We both found ourselves incredible underwhelmed, and never planning to return. But as we now make all lunch-related decisions by this blog, and Nick's Famous Coney Island is one of…
Read More

Barley Mill Pub

1629 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=10&id=313 Date of Visit: November 12, 2009 Price for 2 (with tip): $22 The Barley Mill is the oldest McMenamins pub in Portland, and if you've been to one McMenamins, you pretty much know what to expect. Pub food and good beer served up in whatever kitschy theme that location happens to be dedicated to. The theme here is the Greatful Dead, and the walls and even ceiling are covered with brightly colored junk of that ilk, but I tried not to hold that against them. When you really start to pay attention, there are subtle differences in the menus and offerings at each location, and…
Read More

Burgerville

1122 SE Hawthorne Blvd Burgerville.com Date of Visit: November 10, 2009 Price for 1: $7.59 Jared hates Burgerville. For that reason he made it a point that if we were going to do this blog project, we were not including chains, so we wouldn't have to go there. I should note though, the reason Jared hates Burgerville is because you need a key to get into the bathroom and one time he tried to use the WiFi and it didn't work. And I, on the other hand, really like the place. Yes Burgerville is a fast food joint, but it's so much better than your average fast food restaurant. The…
Read More

Grand Central Bakery and Cafe

2230 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.grandcentralbakery.com/store_hawthorne.html Date of visit: November 6, 2009 Price for 2: $18.65 Before we started this blog project, we hit up Grand Central almost every week. The funny thing is, my only real issue with it was I thought it was a little on the spendy side. Now that I've tried tons of different places and seen what's out there, I'm pretty sure that Grand Central Bakery is actually one of the best lunch options on Hawthorne, in terms of price and quality. As the name implies, the star of the sandwiches here is the fresh-baked bread. Different sandwiches come on different breads, everything  from baguettes to…
Read More

Ala Carts Food Pavillion

Location: SE 50th and Divison Number of carts: 14 Covered: Yes Pros: Lots of entertainment options, wet naps, free wifi, good food choices. Cons: Beer is only on weekends, really close to Los Gorditos. Types of food (check their site for current carts): Turkish, burgers, coffee, seafood, Pork, Venezuelan, chicken and waffles, Pizza, Southwestern, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai http://www.alacartspdx.com/ Ala Cart is much more than just a cart pod. It's like a cart experience filled with fun for the whole family. What does that even mean? Well, I'll tell you. In addition to some 14 food carts, there's also a little playground for kids, cornhole for big kids, sidewalk chalk for…
Read More

Mulligan’s

3518 SE Hawthorne Blvd Date of Visit: March 11, 2010 Cost for 2 (with tip): $21 Since it's getting close to St. Patrick's day, it seems fitting we'd finally make it to Mulligan's, although, the impending holiday actually has nothing to do with why we went there. A combination of attempting to be less fat and attempting not to spend so much money has slowed the lunch blogging, but there are a few places still to cross off. Mulligan's was one of them. We showed up promptly at noon and were officially the only customers in there. The bar is big, with a couple pool tables, and apparently on Thursday…
Read More

Cafe Magnolia

1522 SE 32nd Ave Date of visit: February 3, 2010 Price for 2 (with tip) $20 We're really winding down this project -- basically the places left to go are either not really on Hawthorne, or just plain scary. Magnolia fell into the former category with it's slightly off-the-beaten-path location on 32nd. We were actually trying to go to Chance of Rain cafe, the former occupant, but it's gone, Magnolia is open and there we were. I gathered this was more of a breakfast spot, the waitress was sure to let us know they served it all day, although the menu options were not very extensive for either meal. I…
Read More

Jam on Hawthorne

2239 SE Hawthorne Blvd Date of visit: January 13, 2010 Price for 2 (with tip) $18.50 Jam on Hawthorne is a pretty typical Portland breakfast joint, and if you know any thing about Portland, that's a good thing, at least foodwise. Ample portions, lots of variety and a full bar with all sorts of specialty cocktails are a must for any go-to breakfast spot in this town. But of course, there is a dark side to almost all of the good ones: the are small and usually crowded, and unfortunately, this much is also true for Jam. We managed to arrive at prime lunch time, and had to put our…
Read More

The Space Room/ Brite Spot Cafe

4800 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.spaceroomlounge.com/ Date of Visit: 1/12/2010 Price for 2 (with tip): $14.50 After yesterday's round up of places yet to go, it became clear we're pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel on Hawthorne. 80% of remaining restaurants are of the scummy bar variety, and, well, my ass is already fat enough. But one place I hadn't thought of was Big Bertha's; a-ten-dollar-and-under gyro sounded mighty delicious today. It turned out though, that there was a reason we hadn't tried it: this is is exclusively a late night spot. So we hastily opted for the Space Room, directly across the street. I've been to this bar…
Read More

The Whole Bowl

4409 SE Hawthorne Blvd www.thewholebowl.com Date of Visit: December 17, 2009 Price for 2: $13 The first visit to the Whole Bowl is an interesting experience, because it's definitely not your normal restaurant. After all, there is a grand total of one thing on the menu. Your choices include what size and an option to omit any of the standard ingredients. You can also choose to get chips (of the basic tortilla variety served up in an unimpressive ziplock bag) or not. And they have a variety of drinks including Hansen's soda, which is always a plus. Personally, I really like one item on the menu, but Jared was not…
Read More

Nick’s Famous Coney Island

3746 SE Hawthorne Blvd www.nicksfamousconeys.com Date of Visit: November 17, 2009 Price for 2 (with tip): $23.25 We'd actually tried Nick's shortly before embarking on this blog project, and being honest, our review then wasn't good. I'd gotten a burger, because the A Frame outside says "Best Burgers in Town" explicitly and I felt obligated to test it out. Jared got a veggie coney and we both had the mac salad because that day the fryer happened to be broken. We both found ourselves incredible underwhelmed, and never planning to return. But as we now make all lunch-related decisions by this blog, and Nick's Famous Coney Island is one of…
Read More

Barley Mill Pub

1629 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=10&id=313 Date of Visit: November 12, 2009 Price for 2 (with tip): $22 The Barley Mill is the oldest McMenamins pub in Portland, and if you've been to one McMenamins, you pretty much know what to expect. Pub food and good beer served up in whatever kitschy theme that location happens to be dedicated to. The theme here is the Greatful Dead, and the walls and even ceiling are covered with brightly colored junk of that ilk, but I tried not to hold that against them. When you really start to pay attention, there are subtle differences in the menus and offerings at each location, and…
Read More

Burgerville

1122 SE Hawthorne Blvd Burgerville.com Date of Visit: November 10, 2009 Price for 1: $7.59 Jared hates Burgerville. For that reason he made it a point that if we were going to do this blog project, we were not including chains, so we wouldn't have to go there. I should note though, the reason Jared hates Burgerville is because you need a key to get into the bathroom and one time he tried to use the WiFi and it didn't work. And I, on the other hand, really like the place. Yes Burgerville is a fast food joint, but it's so much better than your average fast food restaurant. The…
Read More

Grand Central Bakery and Cafe

2230 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.grandcentralbakery.com/store_hawthorne.html Date of visit: November 6, 2009 Price for 2: $18.65 Before we started this blog project, we hit up Grand Central almost every week. The funny thing is, my only real issue with it was I thought it was a little on the spendy side. Now that I've tried tons of different places and seen what's out there, I'm pretty sure that Grand Central Bakery is actually one of the best lunch options on Hawthorne, in terms of price and quality. As the name implies, the star of the sandwiches here is the fresh-baked bread. Different sandwiches come on different breads, everything  from baguettes to…
Read More

Ala Carts Food Pavillion

Location: SE 50th and Divison Number of carts: 14 Covered: Yes Pros: Lots of entertainment options, wet naps, free wifi, good food choices. Cons: Beer is only on weekends, really close to Los Gorditos. Types of food (check their site for current carts): Turkish, burgers, coffee, seafood, Pork, Venezuelan, chicken and waffles, Pizza, Southwestern, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai http://www.alacartspdx.com/ Ala Cart is much more than just a cart pod. It's like a cart experience filled with fun for the whole family. What does that even mean? Well, I'll tell you. In addition to some 14 food carts, there's also a little playground for kids, cornhole for big kids, sidewalk chalk for…
Read More

Mulligan’s

3518 SE Hawthorne Blvd Date of Visit: March 11, 2010 Cost for 2 (with tip): $21 Since it's getting close to St. Patrick's day, it seems fitting we'd finally make it to Mulligan's, although, the impending holiday actually has nothing to do with why we went there. A combination of attempting to be less fat and attempting not to spend so much money has slowed the lunch blogging, but there are a few places still to cross off. Mulligan's was one of them. We showed up promptly at noon and were officially the only customers in there. The bar is big, with a couple pool tables, and apparently on Thursday…
Read More

Cafe Magnolia

1522 SE 32nd Ave Date of visit: February 3, 2010 Price for 2 (with tip) $20 We're really winding down this project -- basically the places left to go are either not really on Hawthorne, or just plain scary. Magnolia fell into the former category with it's slightly off-the-beaten-path location on 32nd. We were actually trying to go to Chance of Rain cafe, the former occupant, but it's gone, Magnolia is open and there we were. I gathered this was more of a breakfast spot, the waitress was sure to let us know they served it all day, although the menu options were not very extensive for either meal. I…
Read More

Jam on Hawthorne

2239 SE Hawthorne Blvd Date of visit: January 13, 2010 Price for 2 (with tip) $18.50 Jam on Hawthorne is a pretty typical Portland breakfast joint, and if you know any thing about Portland, that's a good thing, at least foodwise. Ample portions, lots of variety and a full bar with all sorts of specialty cocktails are a must for any go-to breakfast spot in this town. But of course, there is a dark side to almost all of the good ones: the are small and usually crowded, and unfortunately, this much is also true for Jam. We managed to arrive at prime lunch time, and had to put our…
Read More

The Space Room/ Brite Spot Cafe

4800 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.spaceroomlounge.com/ Date of Visit: 1/12/2010 Price for 2 (with tip): $14.50 After yesterday's round up of places yet to go, it became clear we're pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel on Hawthorne. 80% of remaining restaurants are of the scummy bar variety, and, well, my ass is already fat enough. But one place I hadn't thought of was Big Bertha's; a-ten-dollar-and-under gyro sounded mighty delicious today. It turned out though, that there was a reason we hadn't tried it: this is is exclusively a late night spot. So we hastily opted for the Space Room, directly across the street. I've been to this bar…
Read More

The Whole Bowl

4409 SE Hawthorne Blvd www.thewholebowl.com Date of Visit: December 17, 2009 Price for 2: $13 The first visit to the Whole Bowl is an interesting experience, because it's definitely not your normal restaurant. After all, there is a grand total of one thing on the menu. Your choices include what size and an option to omit any of the standard ingredients. You can also choose to get chips (of the basic tortilla variety served up in an unimpressive ziplock bag) or not. And they have a variety of drinks including Hansen's soda, which is always a plus. Personally, I really like one item on the menu, but Jared was not…
Read More

Nick’s Famous Coney Island

3746 SE Hawthorne Blvd www.nicksfamousconeys.com Date of Visit: November 17, 2009 Price for 2 (with tip): $23.25 We'd actually tried Nick's shortly before embarking on this blog project, and being honest, our review then wasn't good. I'd gotten a burger, because the A Frame outside says "Best Burgers in Town" explicitly and I felt obligated to test it out. Jared got a veggie coney and we both had the mac salad because that day the fryer happened to be broken. We both found ourselves incredible underwhelmed, and never planning to return. But as we now make all lunch-related decisions by this blog, and Nick's Famous Coney Island is one of…
Read More

Barley Mill Pub

1629 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=10&id=313 Date of Visit: November 12, 2009 Price for 2 (with tip): $22 The Barley Mill is the oldest McMenamins pub in Portland, and if you've been to one McMenamins, you pretty much know what to expect. Pub food and good beer served up in whatever kitschy theme that location happens to be dedicated to. The theme here is the Greatful Dead, and the walls and even ceiling are covered with brightly colored junk of that ilk, but I tried not to hold that against them. When you really start to pay attention, there are subtle differences in the menus and offerings at each location, and…
Read More

Burgerville

1122 SE Hawthorne Blvd Burgerville.com Date of Visit: November 10, 2009 Price for 1: $7.59 Jared hates Burgerville. For that reason he made it a point that if we were going to do this blog project, we were not including chains, so we wouldn't have to go there. I should note though, the reason Jared hates Burgerville is because you need a key to get into the bathroom and one time he tried to use the WiFi and it didn't work. And I, on the other hand, really like the place. Yes Burgerville is a fast food joint, but it's so much better than your average fast food restaurant. The…
Read More

Grand Central Bakery and Cafe

2230 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.grandcentralbakery.com/store_hawthorne.html Date of visit: November 6, 2009 Price for 2: $18.65 Before we started this blog project, we hit up Grand Central almost every week. The funny thing is, my only real issue with it was I thought it was a little on the spendy side. Now that I've tried tons of different places and seen what's out there, I'm pretty sure that Grand Central Bakery is actually one of the best lunch options on Hawthorne, in terms of price and quality. As the name implies, the star of the sandwiches here is the fresh-baked bread. Different sandwiches come on different breads, everything  from baguettes to…
Read More

Ala Carts Food Pavillion

Location: SE 50th and Divison Number of carts: 14 Covered: Yes Pros: Lots of entertainment options, wet naps, free wifi, good food choices. Cons: Beer is only on weekends, really close to Los Gorditos. Types of food (check their site for current carts): Turkish, burgers, coffee, seafood, Pork, Venezuelan, chicken and waffles, Pizza, Southwestern, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai http://www.alacartspdx.com/ Ala Cart is much more than just a cart pod. It's like a cart experience filled with fun for the whole family. What does that even mean? Well, I'll tell you. In addition to some 14 food carts, there's also a little playground for kids, cornhole for big kids, sidewalk chalk for…
Read More

Mulligan’s

3518 SE Hawthorne Blvd Date of Visit: March 11, 2010 Cost for 2 (with tip): $21 Since it's getting close to St. Patrick's day, it seems fitting we'd finally make it to Mulligan's, although, the impending holiday actually has nothing to do with why we went there. A combination of attempting to be less fat and attempting not to spend so much money has slowed the lunch blogging, but there are a few places still to cross off. Mulligan's was one of them. We showed up promptly at noon and were officially the only customers in there. The bar is big, with a couple pool tables, and apparently on Thursday…
Read More

Cafe Magnolia

1522 SE 32nd Ave Date of visit: February 3, 2010 Price for 2 (with tip) $20 We're really winding down this project -- basically the places left to go are either not really on Hawthorne, or just plain scary. Magnolia fell into the former category with it's slightly off-the-beaten-path location on 32nd. We were actually trying to go to Chance of Rain cafe, the former occupant, but it's gone, Magnolia is open and there we were. I gathered this was more of a breakfast spot, the waitress was sure to let us know they served it all day, although the menu options were not very extensive for either meal. I…
Read More

Jam on Hawthorne

2239 SE Hawthorne Blvd Date of visit: January 13, 2010 Price for 2 (with tip) $18.50 Jam on Hawthorne is a pretty typical Portland breakfast joint, and if you know any thing about Portland, that's a good thing, at least foodwise. Ample portions, lots of variety and a full bar with all sorts of specialty cocktails are a must for any go-to breakfast spot in this town. But of course, there is a dark side to almost all of the good ones: the are small and usually crowded, and unfortunately, this much is also true for Jam. We managed to arrive at prime lunch time, and had to put our…
Read More

The Space Room/ Brite Spot Cafe

4800 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.spaceroomlounge.com/ Date of Visit: 1/12/2010 Price for 2 (with tip): $14.50 After yesterday's round up of places yet to go, it became clear we're pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel on Hawthorne. 80% of remaining restaurants are of the scummy bar variety, and, well, my ass is already fat enough. But one place I hadn't thought of was Big Bertha's; a-ten-dollar-and-under gyro sounded mighty delicious today. It turned out though, that there was a reason we hadn't tried it: this is is exclusively a late night spot. So we hastily opted for the Space Room, directly across the street. I've been to this bar…
Read More

The Whole Bowl

4409 SE Hawthorne Blvd www.thewholebowl.com Date of Visit: December 17, 2009 Price for 2: $13 The first visit to the Whole Bowl is an interesting experience, because it's definitely not your normal restaurant. After all, there is a grand total of one thing on the menu. Your choices include what size and an option to omit any of the standard ingredients. You can also choose to get chips (of the basic tortilla variety served up in an unimpressive ziplock bag) or not. And they have a variety of drinks including Hansen's soda, which is always a plus. Personally, I really like one item on the menu, but Jared was not…
Read More

Nick’s Famous Coney Island

3746 SE Hawthorne Blvd www.nicksfamousconeys.com Date of Visit: November 17, 2009 Price for 2 (with tip): $23.25 We'd actually tried Nick's shortly before embarking on this blog project, and being honest, our review then wasn't good. I'd gotten a burger, because the A Frame outside says "Best Burgers in Town" explicitly and I felt obligated to test it out. Jared got a veggie coney and we both had the mac salad because that day the fryer happened to be broken. We both found ourselves incredible underwhelmed, and never planning to return. But as we now make all lunch-related decisions by this blog, and Nick's Famous Coney Island is one of…
Read More

Barley Mill Pub

1629 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=10&id=313 Date of Visit: November 12, 2009 Price for 2 (with tip): $22 The Barley Mill is the oldest McMenamins pub in Portland, and if you've been to one McMenamins, you pretty much know what to expect. Pub food and good beer served up in whatever kitschy theme that location happens to be dedicated to. The theme here is the Greatful Dead, and the walls and even ceiling are covered with brightly colored junk of that ilk, but I tried not to hold that against them. When you really start to pay attention, there are subtle differences in the menus and offerings at each location, and…
Read More

Burgerville

1122 SE Hawthorne Blvd Burgerville.com Date of Visit: November 10, 2009 Price for 1: $7.59 Jared hates Burgerville. For that reason he made it a point that if we were going to do this blog project, we were not including chains, so we wouldn't have to go there. I should note though, the reason Jared hates Burgerville is because you need a key to get into the bathroom and one time he tried to use the WiFi and it didn't work. And I, on the other hand, really like the place. Yes Burgerville is a fast food joint, but it's so much better than your average fast food restaurant. The…
Read More

Grand Central Bakery and Cafe

2230 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.grandcentralbakery.com/store_hawthorne.html Date of visit: November 6, 2009 Price for 2: $18.65 Before we started this blog project, we hit up Grand Central almost every week. The funny thing is, my only real issue with it was I thought it was a little on the spendy side. Now that I've tried tons of different places and seen what's out there, I'm pretty sure that Grand Central Bakery is actually one of the best lunch options on Hawthorne, in terms of price and quality. As the name implies, the star of the sandwiches here is the fresh-baked bread. Different sandwiches come on different breads, everything  from baguettes to…
Read More

Ala Carts Food Pavillion

Location: SE 50th and Divison Number of carts: 14 Covered: Yes Pros: Lots of entertainment options, wet naps, free wifi, good food choices. Cons: Beer is only on weekends, really close to Los Gorditos. Types of food (check their site for current carts): Turkish, burgers, coffee, seafood, Pork, Venezuelan, chicken and waffles, Pizza, Southwestern, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai http://www.alacartspdx.com/ Ala Cart is much more than just a cart pod. It's like a cart experience filled with fun for the whole family. What does that even mean? Well, I'll tell you. In addition to some 14 food carts, there's also a little playground for kids, cornhole for big kids, sidewalk chalk for…
Read More

Mulligan’s

3518 SE Hawthorne Blvd Date of Visit: March 11, 2010 Cost for 2 (with tip): $21 Since it's getting close to St. Patrick's day, it seems fitting we'd finally make it to Mulligan's, although, the impending holiday actually has nothing to do with why we went there. A combination of attempting to be less fat and attempting not to spend so much money has slowed the lunch blogging, but there are a few places still to cross off. Mulligan's was one of them. We showed up promptly at noon and were officially the only customers in there. The bar is big, with a couple pool tables, and apparently on Thursday…
Read More

Cafe Magnolia

1522 SE 32nd Ave Date of visit: February 3, 2010 Price for 2 (with tip) $20 We're really winding down this project -- basically the places left to go are either not really on Hawthorne, or just plain scary. Magnolia fell into the former category with it's slightly off-the-beaten-path location on 32nd. We were actually trying to go to Chance of Rain cafe, the former occupant, but it's gone, Magnolia is open and there we were. I gathered this was more of a breakfast spot, the waitress was sure to let us know they served it all day, although the menu options were not very extensive for either meal. I…
Read More

Jam on Hawthorne

2239 SE Hawthorne Blvd Date of visit: January 13, 2010 Price for 2 (with tip) $18.50 Jam on Hawthorne is a pretty typical Portland breakfast joint, and if you know any thing about Portland, that's a good thing, at least foodwise. Ample portions, lots of variety and a full bar with all sorts of specialty cocktails are a must for any go-to breakfast spot in this town. But of course, there is a dark side to almost all of the good ones: the are small and usually crowded, and unfortunately, this much is also true for Jam. We managed to arrive at prime lunch time, and had to put our…
Read More

The Space Room/ Brite Spot Cafe

4800 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.spaceroomlounge.com/ Date of Visit: 1/12/2010 Price for 2 (with tip): $14.50 After yesterday's round up of places yet to go, it became clear we're pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel on Hawthorne. 80% of remaining restaurants are of the scummy bar variety, and, well, my ass is already fat enough. But one place I hadn't thought of was Big Bertha's; a-ten-dollar-and-under gyro sounded mighty delicious today. It turned out though, that there was a reason we hadn't tried it: this is is exclusively a late night spot. So we hastily opted for the Space Room, directly across the street. I've been to this bar…
Read More

The Whole Bowl

4409 SE Hawthorne Blvd www.thewholebowl.com Date of Visit: December 17, 2009 Price for 2: $13 The first visit to the Whole Bowl is an interesting experience, because it's definitely not your normal restaurant. After all, there is a grand total of one thing on the menu. Your choices include what size and an option to omit any of the standard ingredients. You can also choose to get chips (of the basic tortilla variety served up in an unimpressive ziplock bag) or not. And they have a variety of drinks including Hansen's soda, which is always a plus. Personally, I really like one item on the menu, but Jared was not…
Read More

Nick’s Famous Coney Island

3746 SE Hawthorne Blvd www.nicksfamousconeys.com Date of Visit: November 17, 2009 Price for 2 (with tip): $23.25 We'd actually tried Nick's shortly before embarking on this blog project, and being honest, our review then wasn't good. I'd gotten a burger, because the A Frame outside says "Best Burgers in Town" explicitly and I felt obligated to test it out. Jared got a veggie coney and we both had the mac salad because that day the fryer happened to be broken. We both found ourselves incredible underwhelmed, and never planning to return. But as we now make all lunch-related decisions by this blog, and Nick's Famous Coney Island is one of…
Read More

Barley Mill Pub

1629 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=10&id=313 Date of Visit: November 12, 2009 Price for 2 (with tip): $22 The Barley Mill is the oldest McMenamins pub in Portland, and if you've been to one McMenamins, you pretty much know what to expect. Pub food and good beer served up in whatever kitschy theme that location happens to be dedicated to. The theme here is the Greatful Dead, and the walls and even ceiling are covered with brightly colored junk of that ilk, but I tried not to hold that against them. When you really start to pay attention, there are subtle differences in the menus and offerings at each location, and…
Read More

Burgerville

1122 SE Hawthorne Blvd Burgerville.com Date of Visit: November 10, 2009 Price for 1: $7.59 Jared hates Burgerville. For that reason he made it a point that if we were going to do this blog project, we were not including chains, so we wouldn't have to go there. I should note though, the reason Jared hates Burgerville is because you need a key to get into the bathroom and one time he tried to use the WiFi and it didn't work. And I, on the other hand, really like the place. Yes Burgerville is a fast food joint, but it's so much better than your average fast food restaurant. The…
Read More

Grand Central Bakery and Cafe

2230 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.grandcentralbakery.com/store_hawthorne.html Date of visit: November 6, 2009 Price for 2: $18.65 Before we started this blog project, we hit up Grand Central almost every week. The funny thing is, my only real issue with it was I thought it was a little on the spendy side. Now that I've tried tons of different places and seen what's out there, I'm pretty sure that Grand Central Bakery is actually one of the best lunch options on Hawthorne, in terms of price and quality. As the name implies, the star of the sandwiches here is the fresh-baked bread. Different sandwiches come on different breads, everything  from baguettes to…
Read More

Ala Carts Food Pavillion

Location: SE 50th and Divison Number of carts: 14 Covered: Yes Pros: Lots of entertainment options, wet naps, free wifi, good food choices. Cons: Beer is only on weekends, really close to Los Gorditos. Types of food (check their site for current carts): Turkish, burgers, coffee, seafood, Pork, Venezuelan, chicken and waffles, Pizza, Southwestern, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai http://www.alacartspdx.com/ Ala Cart is much more than just a cart pod. It's like a cart experience filled with fun for the whole family. What does that even mean? Well, I'll tell you. In addition to some 14 food carts, there's also a little playground for kids, cornhole for big kids, sidewalk chalk for…
Read More

Mulligan’s

3518 SE Hawthorne Blvd Date of Visit: March 11, 2010 Cost for 2 (with tip): $21 Since it's getting close to St. Patrick's day, it seems fitting we'd finally make it to Mulligan's, although, the impending holiday actually has nothing to do with why we went there. A combination of attempting to be less fat and attempting not to spend so much money has slowed the lunch blogging, but there are a few places still to cross off. Mulligan's was one of them. We showed up promptly at noon and were officially the only customers in there. The bar is big, with a couple pool tables, and apparently on Thursday…
Read More

Cafe Magnolia

1522 SE 32nd Ave Date of visit: February 3, 2010 Price for 2 (with tip) $20 We're really winding down this project -- basically the places left to go are either not really on Hawthorne, or just plain scary. Magnolia fell into the former category with it's slightly off-the-beaten-path location on 32nd. We were actually trying to go to Chance of Rain cafe, the former occupant, but it's gone, Magnolia is open and there we were. I gathered this was more of a breakfast spot, the waitress was sure to let us know they served it all day, although the menu options were not very extensive for either meal. I…
Read More

Jam on Hawthorne

2239 SE Hawthorne Blvd Date of visit: January 13, 2010 Price for 2 (with tip) $18.50 Jam on Hawthorne is a pretty typical Portland breakfast joint, and if you know any thing about Portland, that's a good thing, at least foodwise. Ample portions, lots of variety and a full bar with all sorts of specialty cocktails are a must for any go-to breakfast spot in this town. But of course, there is a dark side to almost all of the good ones: the are small and usually crowded, and unfortunately, this much is also true for Jam. We managed to arrive at prime lunch time, and had to put our…
Read More

The Space Room/ Brite Spot Cafe

4800 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.spaceroomlounge.com/ Date of Visit: 1/12/2010 Price for 2 (with tip): $14.50 After yesterday's round up of places yet to go, it became clear we're pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel on Hawthorne. 80% of remaining restaurants are of the scummy bar variety, and, well, my ass is already fat enough. But one place I hadn't thought of was Big Bertha's; a-ten-dollar-and-under gyro sounded mighty delicious today. It turned out though, that there was a reason we hadn't tried it: this is is exclusively a late night spot. So we hastily opted for the Space Room, directly across the street. I've been to this bar…
Read More

The Whole Bowl

4409 SE Hawthorne Blvd www.thewholebowl.com Date of Visit: December 17, 2009 Price for 2: $13 The first visit to the Whole Bowl is an interesting experience, because it's definitely not your normal restaurant. After all, there is a grand total of one thing on the menu. Your choices include what size and an option to omit any of the standard ingredients. You can also choose to get chips (of the basic tortilla variety served up in an unimpressive ziplock bag) or not. And they have a variety of drinks including Hansen's soda, which is always a plus. Personally, I really like one item on the menu, but Jared was not…
Read More

Nick’s Famous Coney Island

3746 SE Hawthorne Blvd www.nicksfamousconeys.com Date of Visit: November 17, 2009 Price for 2 (with tip): $23.25 We'd actually tried Nick's shortly before embarking on this blog project, and being honest, our review then wasn't good. I'd gotten a burger, because the A Frame outside says "Best Burgers in Town" explicitly and I felt obligated to test it out. Jared got a veggie coney and we both had the mac salad because that day the fryer happened to be broken. We both found ourselves incredible underwhelmed, and never planning to return. But as we now make all lunch-related decisions by this blog, and Nick's Famous Coney Island is one of…
Read More

Barley Mill Pub

1629 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=10&id=313 Date of Visit: November 12, 2009 Price for 2 (with tip): $22 The Barley Mill is the oldest McMenamins pub in Portland, and if you've been to one McMenamins, you pretty much know what to expect. Pub food and good beer served up in whatever kitschy theme that location happens to be dedicated to. The theme here is the Greatful Dead, and the walls and even ceiling are covered with brightly colored junk of that ilk, but I tried not to hold that against them. When you really start to pay attention, there are subtle differences in the menus and offerings at each location, and…
Read More

Burgerville

1122 SE Hawthorne Blvd Burgerville.com Date of Visit: November 10, 2009 Price for 1: $7.59 Jared hates Burgerville. For that reason he made it a point that if we were going to do this blog project, we were not including chains, so we wouldn't have to go there. I should note though, the reason Jared hates Burgerville is because you need a key to get into the bathroom and one time he tried to use the WiFi and it didn't work. And I, on the other hand, really like the place. Yes Burgerville is a fast food joint, but it's so much better than your average fast food restaurant. The…
Read More

Grand Central Bakery and Cafe

2230 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.grandcentralbakery.com/store_hawthorne.html Date of visit: November 6, 2009 Price for 2: $18.65 Before we started this blog project, we hit up Grand Central almost every week. The funny thing is, my only real issue with it was I thought it was a little on the spendy side. Now that I've tried tons of different places and seen what's out there, I'm pretty sure that Grand Central Bakery is actually one of the best lunch options on Hawthorne, in terms of price and quality. As the name implies, the star of the sandwiches here is the fresh-baked bread. Different sandwiches come on different breads, everything  from baguettes to…
Read More

Ala Carts Food Pavillion

Location: SE 50th and Divison Number of carts: 14 Covered: Yes Pros: Lots of entertainment options, wet naps, free wifi, good food choices. Cons: Beer is only on weekends, really close to Los Gorditos. Types of food (check their site for current carts): Turkish, burgers, coffee, seafood, Pork, Venezuelan, chicken and waffles, Pizza, Southwestern, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai http://www.alacartspdx.com/ Ala Cart is much more than just a cart pod. It's like a cart experience filled with fun for the whole family. What does that even mean? Well, I'll tell you. In addition to some 14 food carts, there's also a little playground for kids, cornhole for big kids, sidewalk chalk for…
Read More

Mulligan’s

3518 SE Hawthorne Blvd Date of Visit: March 11, 2010 Cost for 2 (with tip): $21 Since it's getting close to St. Patrick's day, it seems fitting we'd finally make it to Mulligan's, although, the impending holiday actually has nothing to do with why we went there. A combination of attempting to be less fat and attempting not to spend so much money has slowed the lunch blogging, but there are a few places still to cross off. Mulligan's was one of them. We showed up promptly at noon and were officially the only customers in there. The bar is big, with a couple pool tables, and apparently on Thursday…
Read More

Cafe Magnolia

1522 SE 32nd Ave Date of visit: February 3, 2010 Price for 2 (with tip) $20 We're really winding down this project -- basically the places left to go are either not really on Hawthorne, or just plain scary. Magnolia fell into the former category with it's slightly off-the-beaten-path location on 32nd. We were actually trying to go to Chance of Rain cafe, the former occupant, but it's gone, Magnolia is open and there we were. I gathered this was more of a breakfast spot, the waitress was sure to let us know they served it all day, although the menu options were not very extensive for either meal. I…
Read More

Jam on Hawthorne

2239 SE Hawthorne Blvd Date of visit: January 13, 2010 Price for 2 (with tip) $18.50 Jam on Hawthorne is a pretty typical Portland breakfast joint, and if you know any thing about Portland, that's a good thing, at least foodwise. Ample portions, lots of variety and a full bar with all sorts of specialty cocktails are a must for any go-to breakfast spot in this town. But of course, there is a dark side to almost all of the good ones: the are small and usually crowded, and unfortunately, this much is also true for Jam. We managed to arrive at prime lunch time, and had to put our…
Read More

The Space Room/ Brite Spot Cafe

4800 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.spaceroomlounge.com/ Date of Visit: 1/12/2010 Price for 2 (with tip): $14.50 After yesterday's round up of places yet to go, it became clear we're pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel on Hawthorne. 80% of remaining restaurants are of the scummy bar variety, and, well, my ass is already fat enough. But one place I hadn't thought of was Big Bertha's; a-ten-dollar-and-under gyro sounded mighty delicious today. It turned out though, that there was a reason we hadn't tried it: this is is exclusively a late night spot. So we hastily opted for the Space Room, directly across the street. I've been to this bar…
Read More

The Whole Bowl

4409 SE Hawthorne Blvd www.thewholebowl.com Date of Visit: December 17, 2009 Price for 2: $13 The first visit to the Whole Bowl is an interesting experience, because it's definitely not your normal restaurant. After all, there is a grand total of one thing on the menu. Your choices include what size and an option to omit any of the standard ingredients. You can also choose to get chips (of the basic tortilla variety served up in an unimpressive ziplock bag) or not. And they have a variety of drinks including Hansen's soda, which is always a plus. Personally, I really like one item on the menu, but Jared was not…
Read More

Nick’s Famous Coney Island

3746 SE Hawthorne Blvd www.nicksfamousconeys.com Date of Visit: November 17, 2009 Price for 2 (with tip): $23.25 We'd actually tried Nick's shortly before embarking on this blog project, and being honest, our review then wasn't good. I'd gotten a burger, because the A Frame outside says "Best Burgers in Town" explicitly and I felt obligated to test it out. Jared got a veggie coney and we both had the mac salad because that day the fryer happened to be broken. We both found ourselves incredible underwhelmed, and never planning to return. But as we now make all lunch-related decisions by this blog, and Nick's Famous Coney Island is one of…
Read More

Barley Mill Pub

1629 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=10&id=313 Date of Visit: November 12, 2009 Price for 2 (with tip): $22 The Barley Mill is the oldest McMenamins pub in Portland, and if you've been to one McMenamins, you pretty much know what to expect. Pub food and good beer served up in whatever kitschy theme that location happens to be dedicated to. The theme here is the Greatful Dead, and the walls and even ceiling are covered with brightly colored junk of that ilk, but I tried not to hold that against them. When you really start to pay attention, there are subtle differences in the menus and offerings at each location, and…
Read More

Burgerville

1122 SE Hawthorne Blvd Burgerville.com Date of Visit: November 10, 2009 Price for 1: $7.59 Jared hates Burgerville. For that reason he made it a point that if we were going to do this blog project, we were not including chains, so we wouldn't have to go there. I should note though, the reason Jared hates Burgerville is because you need a key to get into the bathroom and one time he tried to use the WiFi and it didn't work. And I, on the other hand, really like the place. Yes Burgerville is a fast food joint, but it's so much better than your average fast food restaurant. The…
Read More

Grand Central Bakery and Cafe

2230 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.grandcentralbakery.com/store_hawthorne.html Date of visit: November 6, 2009 Price for 2: $18.65 Before we started this blog project, we hit up Grand Central almost every week. The funny thing is, my only real issue with it was I thought it was a little on the spendy side. Now that I've tried tons of different places and seen what's out there, I'm pretty sure that Grand Central Bakery is actually one of the best lunch options on Hawthorne, in terms of price and quality. As the name implies, the star of the sandwiches here is the fresh-baked bread. Different sandwiches come on different breads, everything  from baguettes to…
Read More

Ala Carts Food Pavillion

Location: SE 50th and Divison Number of carts: 14 Covered: Yes Pros: Lots of entertainment options, wet naps, free wifi, good food choices. Cons: Beer is only on weekends, really close to Los Gorditos. Types of food (check their site for current carts): Turkish, burgers, coffee, seafood, Pork, Venezuelan, chicken and waffles, Pizza, Southwestern, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai http://www.alacartspdx.com/ Ala Cart is much more than just a cart pod. It's like a cart experience filled with fun for the whole family. What does that even mean? Well, I'll tell you. In addition to some 14 food carts, there's also a little playground for kids, cornhole for big kids, sidewalk chalk for…
Read More

Mulligan’s

3518 SE Hawthorne Blvd Date of Visit: March 11, 2010 Cost for 2 (with tip): $21 Since it's getting close to St. Patrick's day, it seems fitting we'd finally make it to Mulligan's, although, the impending holiday actually has nothing to do with why we went there. A combination of attempting to be less fat and attempting not to spend so much money has slowed the lunch blogging, but there are a few places still to cross off. Mulligan's was one of them. We showed up promptly at noon and were officially the only customers in there. The bar is big, with a couple pool tables, and apparently on Thursday…
Read More

Cafe Magnolia

1522 SE 32nd Ave Date of visit: February 3, 2010 Price for 2 (with tip) $20 We're really winding down this project -- basically the places left to go are either not really on Hawthorne, or just plain scary. Magnolia fell into the former category with it's slightly off-the-beaten-path location on 32nd. We were actually trying to go to Chance of Rain cafe, the former occupant, but it's gone, Magnolia is open and there we were. I gathered this was more of a breakfast spot, the waitress was sure to let us know they served it all day, although the menu options were not very extensive for either meal. I…
Read More

Jam on Hawthorne

2239 SE Hawthorne Blvd Date of visit: January 13, 2010 Price for 2 (with tip) $18.50 Jam on Hawthorne is a pretty typical Portland breakfast joint, and if you know any thing about Portland, that's a good thing, at least foodwise. Ample portions, lots of variety and a full bar with all sorts of specialty cocktails are a must for any go-to breakfast spot in this town. But of course, there is a dark side to almost all of the good ones: the are small and usually crowded, and unfortunately, this much is also true for Jam. We managed to arrive at prime lunch time, and had to put our…
Read More

The Space Room/ Brite Spot Cafe

4800 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.spaceroomlounge.com/ Date of Visit: 1/12/2010 Price for 2 (with tip): $14.50 After yesterday's round up of places yet to go, it became clear we're pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel on Hawthorne. 80% of remaining restaurants are of the scummy bar variety, and, well, my ass is already fat enough. But one place I hadn't thought of was Big Bertha's; a-ten-dollar-and-under gyro sounded mighty delicious today. It turned out though, that there was a reason we hadn't tried it: this is is exclusively a late night spot. So we hastily opted for the Space Room, directly across the street. I've been to this bar…
Read More

The Whole Bowl

4409 SE Hawthorne Blvd www.thewholebowl.com Date of Visit: December 17, 2009 Price for 2: $13 The first visit to the Whole Bowl is an interesting experience, because it's definitely not your normal restaurant. After all, there is a grand total of one thing on the menu. Your choices include what size and an option to omit any of the standard ingredients. You can also choose to get chips (of the basic tortilla variety served up in an unimpressive ziplock bag) or not. And they have a variety of drinks including Hansen's soda, which is always a plus. Personally, I really like one item on the menu, but Jared was not…
Read More

Nick’s Famous Coney Island

3746 SE Hawthorne Blvd www.nicksfamousconeys.com Date of Visit: November 17, 2009 Price for 2 (with tip): $23.25 We'd actually tried Nick's shortly before embarking on this blog project, and being honest, our review then wasn't good. I'd gotten a burger, because the A Frame outside says "Best Burgers in Town" explicitly and I felt obligated to test it out. Jared got a veggie coney and we both had the mac salad because that day the fryer happened to be broken. We both found ourselves incredible underwhelmed, and never planning to return. But as we now make all lunch-related decisions by this blog, and Nick's Famous Coney Island is one of…
Read More

Barley Mill Pub

1629 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=10&id=313 Date of Visit: November 12, 2009 Price for 2 (with tip): $22 The Barley Mill is the oldest McMenamins pub in Portland, and if you've been to one McMenamins, you pretty much know what to expect. Pub food and good beer served up in whatever kitschy theme that location happens to be dedicated to. The theme here is the Greatful Dead, and the walls and even ceiling are covered with brightly colored junk of that ilk, but I tried not to hold that against them. When you really start to pay attention, there are subtle differences in the menus and offerings at each location, and…
Read More

Burgerville

1122 SE Hawthorne Blvd Burgerville.com Date of Visit: November 10, 2009 Price for 1: $7.59 Jared hates Burgerville. For that reason he made it a point that if we were going to do this blog project, we were not including chains, so we wouldn't have to go there. I should note though, the reason Jared hates Burgerville is because you need a key to get into the bathroom and one time he tried to use the WiFi and it didn't work. And I, on the other hand, really like the place. Yes Burgerville is a fast food joint, but it's so much better than your average fast food restaurant. The…
Read More

Grand Central Bakery and Cafe

2230 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.grandcentralbakery.com/store_hawthorne.html Date of visit: November 6, 2009 Price for 2: $18.65 Before we started this blog project, we hit up Grand Central almost every week. The funny thing is, my only real issue with it was I thought it was a little on the spendy side. Now that I've tried tons of different places and seen what's out there, I'm pretty sure that Grand Central Bakery is actually one of the best lunch options on Hawthorne, in terms of price and quality. As the name implies, the star of the sandwiches here is the fresh-baked bread. Different sandwiches come on different breads, everything  from baguettes to…
Read More

Ala Carts Food Pavillion

Location: SE 50th and Divison Number of carts: 14 Covered: Yes Pros: Lots of entertainment options, wet naps, free wifi, good food choices. Cons: Beer is only on weekends, really close to Los Gorditos. Types of food (check their site for current carts): Turkish, burgers, coffee, seafood, Pork, Venezuelan, chicken and waffles, Pizza, Southwestern, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai http://www.alacartspdx.com/ Ala Cart is much more than just a cart pod. It's like a cart experience filled with fun for the whole family. What does that even mean? Well, I'll tell you. In addition to some 14 food carts, there's also a little playground for kids, cornhole for big kids, sidewalk chalk for…
Read More

Mulligan’s

3518 SE Hawthorne Blvd Date of Visit: March 11, 2010 Cost for 2 (with tip): $21 Since it's getting close to St. Patrick's day, it seems fitting we'd finally make it to Mulligan's, although, the impending holiday actually has nothing to do with why we went there. A combination of attempting to be less fat and attempting not to spend so much money has slowed the lunch blogging, but there are a few places still to cross off. Mulligan's was one of them. We showed up promptly at noon and were officially the only customers in there. The bar is big, with a couple pool tables, and apparently on Thursday…
Read More

Cafe Magnolia

1522 SE 32nd Ave Date of visit: February 3, 2010 Price for 2 (with tip) $20 We're really winding down this project -- basically the places left to go are either not really on Hawthorne, or just plain scary. Magnolia fell into the former category with it's slightly off-the-beaten-path location on 32nd. We were actually trying to go to Chance of Rain cafe, the former occupant, but it's gone, Magnolia is open and there we were. I gathered this was more of a breakfast spot, the waitress was sure to let us know they served it all day, although the menu options were not very extensive for either meal. I…
Read More

Jam on Hawthorne

2239 SE Hawthorne Blvd Date of visit: January 13, 2010 Price for 2 (with tip) $18.50 Jam on Hawthorne is a pretty typical Portland breakfast joint, and if you know any thing about Portland, that's a good thing, at least foodwise. Ample portions, lots of variety and a full bar with all sorts of specialty cocktails are a must for any go-to breakfast spot in this town. But of course, there is a dark side to almost all of the good ones: the are small and usually crowded, and unfortunately, this much is also true for Jam. We managed to arrive at prime lunch time, and had to put our…
Read More

The Space Room/ Brite Spot Cafe

4800 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.spaceroomlounge.com/ Date of Visit: 1/12/2010 Price for 2 (with tip): $14.50 After yesterday's round up of places yet to go, it became clear we're pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel on Hawthorne. 80% of remaining restaurants are of the scummy bar variety, and, well, my ass is already fat enough. But one place I hadn't thought of was Big Bertha's; a-ten-dollar-and-under gyro sounded mighty delicious today. It turned out though, that there was a reason we hadn't tried it: this is is exclusively a late night spot. So we hastily opted for the Space Room, directly across the street. I've been to this bar…
Read More

The Whole Bowl

4409 SE Hawthorne Blvd www.thewholebowl.com Date of Visit: December 17, 2009 Price for 2: $13 The first visit to the Whole Bowl is an interesting experience, because it's definitely not your normal restaurant. After all, there is a grand total of one thing on the menu. Your choices include what size and an option to omit any of the standard ingredients. You can also choose to get chips (of the basic tortilla variety served up in an unimpressive ziplock bag) or not. And they have a variety of drinks including Hansen's soda, which is always a plus. Personally, I really like one item on the menu, but Jared was not…
Read More

Nick’s Famous Coney Island

3746 SE Hawthorne Blvd www.nicksfamousconeys.com Date of Visit: November 17, 2009 Price for 2 (with tip): $23.25 We'd actually tried Nick's shortly before embarking on this blog project, and being honest, our review then wasn't good. I'd gotten a burger, because the A Frame outside says "Best Burgers in Town" explicitly and I felt obligated to test it out. Jared got a veggie coney and we both had the mac salad because that day the fryer happened to be broken. We both found ourselves incredible underwhelmed, and never planning to return. But as we now make all lunch-related decisions by this blog, and Nick's Famous Coney Island is one of…
Read More

Barley Mill Pub

1629 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=10&id=313 Date of Visit: November 12, 2009 Price for 2 (with tip): $22 The Barley Mill is the oldest McMenamins pub in Portland, and if you've been to one McMenamins, you pretty much know what to expect. Pub food and good beer served up in whatever kitschy theme that location happens to be dedicated to. The theme here is the Greatful Dead, and the walls and even ceiling are covered with brightly colored junk of that ilk, but I tried not to hold that against them. When you really start to pay attention, there are subtle differences in the menus and offerings at each location, and…
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Burgerville

1122 SE Hawthorne Blvd Burgerville.com Date of Visit: November 10, 2009 Price for 1: $7.59 Jared hates Burgerville. For that reason he made it a point that if we were going to do this blog project, we were not including chains, so we wouldn't have to go there. I should note though, the reason Jared hates Burgerville is because you need a key to get into the bathroom and one time he tried to use the WiFi and it didn't work. And I, on the other hand, really like the place. Yes Burgerville is a fast food joint, but it's so much better than your average fast food restaurant. The…
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Grand Central Bakery and Cafe

2230 SE Hawthorne Blvd http://www.grandcentralbakery.com/store_hawthorne.html Date of visit: November 6, 2009 Price for 2: $18.65 Before we started this blog project, we hit up Grand Central almost every week. The funny thing is, my only real issue with it was I thought it was a little on the spendy side. Now that I've tried tons of different places and seen what's out there, I'm pretty sure that Grand Central Bakery is actually one of the best lunch options on Hawthorne, in terms of price and quality. As the name implies, the star of the sandwiches here is the fresh-baked bread. Different sandwiches come on different breads, everything  from baguettes to…
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